Indrani sat on Sheena while strangulating her: Former driver

“Indrani madam Sheena ke moonh ke upar baith gai (Indrani madam sat on Sheena’s face after killing her),” Shyamvar Rai, former driver of prime accused Indrani Mukerjea, who has turned approver in the sensational Sheena Bora murder case, has said in his 16-page confessional statement, recorded in Hindi. The confession is however silent about Peter Mukerjea.

In the statement, a copy of which was handed over to Indrani’s lawyers on Friday, Rai has given details about how Indrani strangulated her own daughter in a car and then planned to kill her son Mikhail which they could not do.

Rai said that on April 24, 2012, Indrani introduced him to Sanjeev Khanna. Rai came to know about the conspiracy in March 2012 when Mukerjea’s secretary, Kajal Sharma, informed him that on Indrani’s instructions, she had opened her Skype account and he was to learn how to use it.

Indrani took Rai into confidence and told him that Sheena and Mikhail were giving her a bad name by calling her mother in front of everybody. She said there was a huge property dispute going on between them and hence, she wanted to eliminate them. She also assured him that his role would be that of a driver.

After Rai agreed to help, she went with him in the car to different places to buy cane (to use kerosene to burn the body), shoes, bags (to keep the bodies), liquor etc. As part of the prep for murder, Indrani also bought six bottles of some medicines, two small bottles of mineral water, a bottle of Vodka and McDowell’s whisky from a wine shop in Worli. She added the medicines to the liquor and to the mineral water and gave the medicine spiked water to Sheena to drink when they met at Bandra.

During their journey, Indrani asked Rai to stop the car near a wall at Pali Hill. There, Indrani asked Rai to cover Sheena’s mouth and while sitting on the driver’s seat, he turned around and saw Khanna holding Sheena by her hair. “Indrani madam Sheena ke mandi par baith ke Sheena ka gala daba rahi thi,” (Indrani was strangulating Sheena while sitting on her lap),” Rai said. He also said that when he covered Sheena’s mouth “Sheena ne jor se meri ungli kat li. Meri ungli se khoon nikla (Sheena bit my finger and it started bleeding). Later, Sheena’s body was lying on the seat,” he said.

He also heard Indrani say, “Three BHK flat Sheena ko mil gaya.” (Sheena got her three BHK flat). According to Rai, at that point in time, Indrani was sitting on Sheena’s face.

After murdering her daughter, Indrani dropped Khanna enroute to Taj Lands’ End. After leaving the hotel in around 15 minutes, Indrani told Rai that Rahul was calling Sheena continuously so she dropped one message from Sheena’s mobile. When they came near Marlo building in Worli, Khanna joined them again. After reaching home, Khanna and Indrani stuffed the body in a bag and later, disposed it in a forest near Raigad.